Everyone’s journey is a unique inscription through time and isn’t a path that can be retraced or duplicated. How We Got Here is a series of concise recollections of personal journeys as told by talented creative individuals with different backgrounds, careers, and interests who share their struggles and motivations to explain how they reached this point in their lives.
Coming back to Hong Kong for this part, we talk to friend and longtime collaborator Arthur Bray, better known by his DJ name Yeti. He talks about his uncommon path to his now far reaching enterprise in the form of international music and event collective Yeti Out. To read his predictions on the future of music events with fellow How We Got Here featured artist Jayemkayem, check it out here.
Arthur Bray
— 31, Hong Kong —
I think I once thought to myself I’d eventually be a tour guide or working in the art world. Looks like I’ve made it in some regard. I’ve always been interested in the unexpected world that is nightlife. In the day time, we follow a mode of operation, a regiment.
But at night, anything can happen when people let their hair down and start to be themselves. I’ve always been a big fan of music, so it was a natural to be involved in club culture. By the time I was 17, I was on a street team, getting names for guests lists and passing out flyers for a big DJ.
I grew up in Hong Kong, but moved to Brighton for university. Aside from the sheer diversity in terms of musical styles and genres that were available, I was drawn to this aesthetic that comes from well curated and packaged club night. There’s a story there that can be created. I was always traveling around the UK with my twin brother Tom absorbing new experiences and blogging about it.
It didn’t matter if the event took place inside a proper established club or a shipping container at a dock party. There was always a new group of people to meet and connect with. The connection wasn’t always about finding people of similar backgrounds and thoughts. Instead, it was about this connective element around club life.
“I don’t know if we’re going about it the right way or not. I don’t get ideas by sitting in a dark room and drawing by myself. It needs to be interactive and I need to be on the move. Some people like to use calendars, Asana or whatever. What we do is go based on sheer enthusiasm, ideas that pop up out of late night conversations. If we like it, we just say ‘fuck it. let’s go for it,’ and we run it.”
“I feel rewarded telling stories that haven’t been told yet for a city I love and that inspires me. Nothing’s greater than being able to steer your own ship and execute your own ideas. To make them come to life and see what becomes of it instead of waiting for peoples’ approval. When the lights dim, we’re all the same, looking for good music and a good time.”
